Coin mechanisms for savings clocks and similar savings automatons



Aug. 4, 1959 F. v. LARSEN COIN MECHANISMS FOR SAVINGS CLOCKS AND SIMILAR SAVINGS AUTOMATONS Flled Aprll 16, 1957 INVENTOR fiea crick V Larsenf ATTORNEY S United States Patent "ice COIN MECHANISMS FOR SAVINGS CLOCKS AND SIMILAR SAVINGS AUTOMATONS Frederik Vilhelm Larsen, Copenhagen, Denmark, assignor to Dansk Spare-Selskab, Copenhagen, Denmark Application April 16, 1957, Serial No. 653,231

Claims priority, application Denmark November 15, 1956 1 Claim. (Cl. 194-19) The present invention relates to coin mechanisms for savings clocks and similar savings devices and its purpose is to provide a particularly simple, cheap, and reliable design of such coin mechanisms, and to enable the duration of the working period to which each coin is to correspond to be varied in a simple manner.

More particularly defined, the invention relates to an arrangement in coin mechanisms of the type in which an arresting wheel, which actuates a stopping device for the clockwork, is turned stepwise away from its stop position by a coin lever actuated by each inserted coin and step wise towards its stop position by pulses derived from the clockwork dependent on the working of the latter. The invention consists primarily in that the mechanism transmitting impulses from the clockwork to the arresting wheel consists of a star wheel which is actuated direct by pins on the barrel wheel of the clockwork and is rotatable by steps and the shaft of which carries a laterally projecting arm adapted to engage direct with the teeth of the arresting wheel.

By this arrangement, the connection between the clockwork and the arresting wheel of the coin mechanism is provided in an exceedingly simple way without the use of intricate transmission members, and, consequently, the entire coin mechanism will contain comparatively few components and can be mounted direct on the clockwork without any special measures being taken as regards the latter except the mounting of a desired number of pins on the barrel wheel of the clockwork.

To secure the star wheel against an unintentional turning, a separate ratchet wheel is conveniently provided rotatable together with the star wheel and co-operating with a resilient arresting pawl, the said wheel having at that point of its circumference engaged by the arresting pawl in the position of the star wheel in which the impulse is to be delivered to the arresting wheel, an increased pitch, preferably twice the pitch on the remaining portion of the circumference. Hereby is attained that the angular movement of the star wheel during the direct action upon the teeth of the arresting wheel becomes larger than,

preferably twice as large as, the normal pitch of the star wheel so that the arm provided on the shaft of the star Wheel and engaging the arresting wheel will not remain in an intermediate position in engagement with the arresting wheel, whereby an unfortuate reaction of the clockwork might occur, if a coin were to be inserted at the same time.

With a view to avoiding a jamming of the mechanism in case that a coin is inserted at the very moment when an impulse is being transmitted from the arm of the star wheel to the arresting wheel, the said arm may according to the invention conveniently be resilient so as to be able to slip over the particular tooth on the arresting wheel in case of abnormal resistance to the turning of the latter.

The invention will be further described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein the figure is a fragmentary diagrammatic illustration of a 2,897,937 Patented Aug. 4, 1959 clockwork with a coin mechanism, according to the present invention, shown in side elevations.

In the drawing, 1 designates part of a clockwork which is shown only diagrammatically and is in the usual manner driven by a spring housed in a barrel with a gear wheel 2 and the working of which is regulated by a balance 3.

To the frame of the clockwork a coin mechanism is screwed On, such mechanism comprising a coin duct 4 through which coins can pass one at a time from an insertion opening 5 located above down into a coin collecting drawer, not shown, each coin on its way down actuating a coin lever 8 which is pivotable on a pin 9 on the coin duct and the lower end of which is bent over and projects through an aperture 7 in the coin duct, where it lies in the path of the coins. The coin lever co-operates with an arresting wheel 10 journalled on a pin on the coin duct in such a way that the said arresting wheel is advanced one tooth in the direction of rotation shown by an arrow .for each coin inserted, until an extra wide pitch gets in line with the upper end of the coin lever. The arresting wheel 10 is by impulses from the clockwork in the manner described below turned stepwise in the opposite direction and will, eventually, in the absence of coin insertions, by means of a pin 6 engage one end of a double-armed blocking lever 11, the freely projecting, resilient arm 12 of which is hereby pressed against the balance 3 of the clockwork and stops the said balance.

The restoring impulses from the clockwork are imparted to the arresting wheel 10 by means of a resilient arm 17 on a shaft .14 which is journalled on the coin duct and carries a toothed star wheel 19 which is so located that it can be actuated direct by a pin 18 inserted in the barrel wheel 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the wheel 19 comprises a total of twenty-eight teeth, and the barrel wheel 2 carries'only a single pin 18. If this barrel Wheel, as is normally the case, performs four full rotations per twenty-four hours, the toothed wheel 19 will, during a period of twenty-four hours, perform rotation so that the arresting wheel 10 will receive one restoring impulse per week. The number of restoring impulses may be increased by increasing the number of pins 18 carried by the barrel wheel 2. Also fixed to the shaft 14 is a separate ratchet wheel 20 which cooperates with a resilient arresting pawl 16. It is expedient that the part of the turning motion of the shaft 14, during which the return impulse is imparted to the arresting wheel, is performed quickly and through a so wide an angle that the arm 1'7 will not remain stationary in engagement with the arresting wheel, and for this purpose there is at the point of the circumference of the ratchet wheel, which is in line with the pawl when the transmission of the impulse is to take place, provided an extra large clearance 21 between the teeth, so that the pawl by its resilience turns the ratchet wheel and thereby the star wheel 19 an extra amount forwards by sliding down into this large clearance 21. At the point of the circumference of the star wheel 19, which at the same time is in line with the barrel wheel, a similar large clearance between the teeth is provided.

I claim:

A control mechanism for savings clocks, comprising in combination a clockwork including a barrel wheel; a frame attached to the clockwork and having a coin receiving and discharging duct, a lever mounted on said frame and movable between a first position in which it extends into said coin duct to be actuated by a coin passing therethrough, and a second position in which it allows the passage of the coin through said duct, a rotary arresting wheel having teeth on its periphery to be engaged by said lever during its motion from said first to said second position for stepwise turning of said arresting wheel away from a stop position in which it prevents the normal operation of said clockwork, and a mechanism for transmitting impulses from said clockwork to said arresting wheel for turning the latter stepwise towards said stop position, said impulse transmitting mechanism comprising at least one pin mounted on the barrel wheel of said clockwork, a shaft journalled in said frame and carrying a toothed star wheel cooperating directly with said pin to be turned stepwise thereby during the rotation of said barrel wheel, an arm carried by said shaft and cooperating during the rotation of said star wheel with the teeth of said arresting wheel for turning it stepwise towards said stop position, a separate ratchet wheel secured to said References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 474,968 Great Britain Nov. 10, 1937 

